THE CRAYFISH FISHERY. 795 



were sent from Montreal on trial. Crayfish are sent alive, packed in boxes, containing about five, 

 hundred each. In these boxes they are arranged in layers, alternating with moist water-plants. 



After crayfish begin to arrive from Milwaukee, the demand for those from Washington ceases, 

 partly because the warm weather prevailing in Washington after May renders their shipment 

 alive quite difficult, and also because the Milwaukee crayfish are considered superior to the 

 others. The quantities received at New York from the three places above mentioned for the 

 past year (1880) were about as follows : From Washington (the season lasting from the middle of 

 March to near June), about 50,000 by count; from Milwaukee (the season lasting about twenty-one 

 weeks from June 1 ), 84,000 by count, or at the rate of about 4,000 a week ; from Montreal the 

 single shipment of 1880 amounted to 2,000 by count, but this year (1881) the receipts will probably be 

 much greater. The shipments from Washington for the spring of 1881 were also larger than usual. 



The crayfish sent from Washington are larger than those from Milwaukee, and the latter in 

 turn are larger than those from Montreal. The Milwaukee crayfish are, however, preferred by 

 epicures to those from Washington, as they are considered to be less coarse in flesh and flavor. 

 The Milwaukee and Montreal crayfish are also said to become a deeper red in boiling than the 

 Potomac, which is to their advantage when intended for garnishing. 



In previous years the Potomac crayfish have brought, in the New York market, as high prices 

 as *4 to $G per hundred, but this year, ou account of the large number received, the price has 

 fallen, at times to $2 per hundred. The Milwaukee crayfish, coining in greater abundance later 

 in the season, have been sold at lower prices from $2 to $3 per hundred. Crayfish are used in 

 New York principally by hotels and restaurants for making soups and bisque of crayfish, and for 

 garnishing fish dishes and lobster salads. 



Mr. Blackford, of Fulton market, to whom we are indebted for the above information and 

 figures, often keeps large quantities of crayfish on hand for a considerable period during the 

 season. In order to do this, he has arranged a large and deep wooden tank in the front part of 

 his ice-house, in the bottom of which there is room for a great many crayfish to move about. 

 Over the bottom of the tank, a thin layer of water, not deep enough to entirely cover the animals, 

 is allowed to pass continuously. The air in the tank is also retained at a moderately low temper- 

 ature. Although many die, yet the mortality is greatly lessened by this method of storing them. 



The sales of crayfish in the New York markets for the year 1880, according to the figures 

 given above, amounted to 136,000 by count, valued at $2,720 wholesale prices. 



WASHINGTON. Notwithstanding the great abundance of crayfish along the banks of the 

 Potomac River, in front of, and below, the city of Washington, very few are taken to supply 

 the retail markets of that city, as they find no ready sale there. The business is entirely in the 

 hands of a few parties who fish during a short period only in the spring, and send nearly all their 

 catch directly to New York. 



NEW ORLEANS. Crayfish are probably more commonly eaten in New Orleans than in any 

 other American city, outside of New York, and yet they are seldom seen in the markets there in 

 large quantities. The supplies come mainly from the shores of the lakes and canal and from the 

 levees of the Mississippi River, in all of which localities they are said to be very abundant and 

 easily procured. Some of the species live in the mud in which they excavate their holes, and 

 others build chimney-like mounds for their protection. The levees of the Lower Mississippi are 

 often much damaged by the numerous excavations of the burrowing species. The crayfish are 

 shipped in baskets for which the gatherers receive 40 cents each. The sales for 1880 amounted 

 to only about 2,000 baskets valued at $800. 



SAN FRANCISCO. According to Mr. W. N. Lockington, crayfish are occasionally brought 



